The Isma'ili-Sufi sage of Pamir : Mubarak-i Wakhani and the esoteric tradition of the Pamiri Muslims

2008·17 MB·English

by  Iloliev, Abdulmamad

Mubarak-i Wakhani
and the Esoteric Tradition
of the Pamiri Muslims
Abdulmamad lloliev
C A M B R I A
P R E S S
Copyright 2008 Abdulmamad lloliev
All rights reserved
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Iloliev, Abdulmamad.
The Isma'ili-Sufi sage of Pamir : Mubarak-i Wakhani and the esoteric tradi-
tion of the Pam iri Muslims / Ab dulmamad Iloliev.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978- 1-934043-97-4 (alk. paper)
I. Wakhani, Mubarak-i, 1839-1 903.2. Sufis-Tajikistan-Biography. I. Title.
In the loving memory of my mother,
Reza Alidodova

List of Plates
Preface
Acknowledgments xiii
Note on the Transliteration
Abbreviations xvii
Introduction
Chapter 1. Ismam Tradition in Pamir:
Legends and History
I. I. The Spread of tlie ls~ni=iFliM issio~ii n Pamir
and Badaklislian
1.2. The For~natio~ofi the Indigenous Faith
of "the Fivers": Panj-Tani
Chapter 2. MubBrak: Life and Times
2.1 . Historical Context: An Overview
2.2. Pirsliip: An Institution of Social Control
and Organisation
2.3. A Biography of Mubiirak
2.4. Sufi
2.5. Poet
2.6. Musician
2.7. Astronomer
2.8. Papermaker and Painter
2.9. MubRrak's Perception of Religious Tolerance
viii Table of Contents
Chapter 3. Thought: 'Sufisised Ismi'ilism'
3.1 . Spectrum of Thought
3.2. Relations and Influences
3.3. Love
3.4. The Beloved
3.5. The Guide
Chapter 4. Chihil Dunyi: The World of Divine Secrets
4.1. The Text, Its Genre and Stylistic Structure
4.2. The Thematic Structure and Paraphrasable Content
4.3. The Main Argument and the Major Themes
4.4. The Testimonies of the Six Eminent Prophets
4.5. The Denouement of the Prophet's First Mi'kiij
4.6. The Second Mi'riij of the Prophet
4.7. Muhammad in the Divine Wonderland
Bibliography
Original Sources (Unpublished Manuscripts)
Secondary Sources: English
Secondary Sources: Russian, Tajik and Persian
Index
Plate 1. MubHrak-i WakhHni's tomb in the village of Yamg.
Plate 2. The tomb facing the village.
Plate 3. Mubiirak-i Wakhiini's museum-shrine:
The main gate.
Plate 4. The terrace of the museum-shrine.
Plate 5. Mubarak's Chamber of Retreat: Chilla Khana.
Plate 6. The reconstructed Chilla Khana next
to the museunl-shrine.
Plate 7. "A doorway toward eternityv--Mubiirak's
stone inscription.
Plate 8. Mublrak's stone inscription enlarged.
Plate 9. Baland-maqdm, a musical instrument of religious
importance.
Plate 10. The backside of the instrument.
Plate 1 1. Mublrak's great-grandson Zarabo with
Baland-magam.
x List of Plates
Plate 12. Sang-i Aft~b-binM, ubBrak's stone
calendar in Yamg.
Plate 13. Sang-i @rib-bin in use. 94
Plate 14. Sang-i Nishin: The signpost stone. 95
Plate 15. Naqsh-i Dilin (Corridor Painting): The
corridor's sunroof. 99
Plate 16. Nuqsh-i Dila'n: Decorated beams in the
ceiling of the corridor. 99
Plate 17. Naqsh-i Dilin: Decorated beams in the
ceiling of the corridor. 100
Plate 18. "The flight of soul"-a symbolic image
from the Glib al-Maflub. 102
Plate 19. The format of the first pages of MubBrak's
manuscripts: An example of the
Kala'm-i Sa* idat.
Plate 20. Some illustrated folios from the
Kalim-i Sa* a'dar.
Plate 2 1 . Some illustrated folios from the
Kaliim-i Sa* iidat.
The materials i~tilisedi n this work are original manuscripts, which I
exatnilled during my several research trips to Tajikistan as a PhD stu-
dent at Cambridge University. Most of those manuscripts, belonging
to Mubsrak-i Wakhiini, have never before been the focus of silstai~ied
research coverage; indeed, their very existence was known only to a very
restricted circle of Mubsrak's relatives, and some local scholars, who
have hitherto been unable to either study or analyse them in any great
depth. Therefore, the origiliality claitned for this work is in its attempt
to be the first introductory study of Mubiirak-i WakllZitii atid his contri-
bution to 1s1n~'iIthi ought and the Persian poetic tradition. It advances a
broader argument concer~~intlgie impact of cultural and religious diver-
sity on tlie composition of the Isms'ili tradition, a dimension of IsmBcili
studies hitherto largely overlooked by liistoria~isa nd lsla~nics pecialists.
It is worth clarifyi~iga t tlie outset that tlie term 'Pamir' and its adjec-
tive (Pamiri) is deployed in the context of the modern autono~nous
provi~ice( vilijyat) of Tajik Badakhshan (Gor~io-Badakhsliato~r) VMKB
( Vikijyat-i Mukhtijr-i Kuhistijn-i Badakhshan), which was establislied in
xii Preface
1925 on the basis of its ethno-cultural differences four years prior to the
formal creation of the Soivet Socialst Rebulic of Tajikistan as an equal
member of the USSR.
Pamir, a mountainous area in the southeast of Tajikistan and northeast
of Afghanistan, is the only region in the world where the ShT'i Ism8'ili
Muslims have subsisted compactly in their homogenous historic land
since the eleventh century. Demographically, Gorno-Badakhshan is a
unique place for the Ism8'ilis, as they are in the majority and formally
constitute a semi independent political entity within the Republic of
Tajikistan.